How unique? Well, let’s just say we couldn’t find another NFL front office that had an attorney with little football experience running the show, let alone a longtime baseball executive in a prominent position. The closest comparisons we could find are in Detroit, Miami and Philadelphia. But one of the three — the Lions’ setup — is no longer in place. In November, Detroit fired team president Tom Lewand and general manager Martin Mayhew. Lewand, who has a law degree from Michigan, was promoted to team president late in 2008. That same year, Mayhew, a Georgetown law product, was moved from assistant GM to GM. A big difference in the Browns’ structure, however, is Mayhew played eight years in the NFL, and had been an assistant GM for four years before he was promoted. Sashi Brown’s most extensive football experience in two years with the Browns is negotiating player contracts and managing the club’s salary cap. The Dolphins, like the Browns, fired their GM, Dennis Hickey, and coach, Joe Philbin. But Mike Tannenbaum, who has the same title as Brown (executive vice president of football operations), remains. Tannenbaum has a law degree and actually spent a couple years as an agent after he was fired by the Jets in 2012. He also has more than 20 years of football experience, beginning as a personnel assistant with Bill Belichick’s Browns. Tannenbaum spent more than 15 years with the Jets, including a tenure of almost seven years as GM. And to continue the theme, the Eagles recently canned their coach, Chip Kelly, who controlled the team’s 53-player roster. Philadelphia’s executive VP of football ops, Howie Roseman, has a law degree and started with the organization as an intern who assisted on the salary cap in 2000. Ten years later, Roseman was named GM, but he worked with two head coaches — Andy Reid and Kelly — who had the final say on the roster. With the Browns, that person is Sashi Brown, a Harvard Law School graduate who spent six years as the Jaguars’ executive VP and general counsel before moving to Cleveland. Brown had the same title with the Browns prior to the franchise’s latest shakeup. Dan Edwards, the Jaguars’ senior VP of communications, said the vast majority of Brown’s work in Jacksonville was outside of football. Brown’s Jaguars bio said his responsibilities included “contract negotiation, employment matters, insurance and risk management, intellectual property and licensing issues and litigation management.” As is the case with seemingly everyone who has crossed paths with Brown, Edwards said he was a well-respected member of the organization. Is Brown qualified to have the final say on the Browns’ 53-man roster? The football traditionalists say no. Heck, they’re hoping the Browns’ experiment fails miserably. (On Thursday, former Browns GM Phil Savage said people around the league “don’t want to see this succeed.” Our two cents (and we’ll have much more on this when this week’s batch of Crain’s print stories go online Sunday morning): The Browns aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel. They’re lining up very smart, strategic, analytically inclined leaders to help them make better decisions, while realizing that they still must hit home runs with their selections of a head coach and a top personnel evaluator. Those two hirings will have more of an impact on whether this works than anything else. Time will tell, and we’re excited to see how this unfolds.

With Irving back, Love's production slips

If Kyrie Irving is healthy, the Cavs can win the 2016 championship. And one of the most interesting subplots in the All-Star point guard’s return from a knee injury is what Irving’s presence will mean to Kevin Love, who at times seemed to thrive as the Cavs’ No. 2 option during Irving’s absence.

Since returning Dec. 20, Irving has played in seven games. During that span, he’s rested in two other contests. In the seven games in which Irving has played, Love has averaged 13.1 points and 10.6 rebounds in 30.1 minutes. He’s shot 41.9% from the field, 33.3% from 3-point range and 76.9% from the free-throw stripe. He has norms of 10.6 shots and 3.9 3-point attempts per game. The majority of those numbers don’t compare favorably to Love’s season averages of 16.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 13.1 shots, 42.5% from the field and 36.2% from long range. Love’s numbers with Irving in the lineup might be deceiving, however. The reason: Love has struggled since the start of December. That month, he averaged only 10.7 points and shot 38.5% from the field. In three January games, his scoring is up to 12.7, but he’s making just 37.3% of his field goals and 27.1% of his 3s. With Irving in the lineup, Love is getting fewer shots and fewer 3s, but it’s far too soon to make any conclusions. The most important numbers: The Cavs have won five in a row and 11 of their last 13. With Irving in the lineup, they’re 6-1. On the season, they’re 15-1 at home and are in position to have homecourt advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. BREAKING NEWS: This team might be pretty good. (Though we still think the Cavs need Love near or at his best to win in the Finals.)

You can follow me on Twitter for sports information and analysis, but not a recap of Joe Banner’s thoughts on the Browns’ restructuring. (For some reason, the team’s former CEO has blocked me on Twitter. Too many Barkevious Mingo jokes, I guess.)